Sewing-machine.



A. F. FIFIELD.

SEWING MACHINE.

APPucATmM mm saw. 10. 1914-.

Patented July 23, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET lyu y ga3%@m WI T/VESSES:

A. F. HFIELD.

SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION HLED SEPT-10,1914.

Patented July 23, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES:

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twine-Machine.

Specification of Letters Patent.

atented July 2% T Application met tepteinter to, wi l. aerial lto. tenant. I a

To all whom it may concern:

I Be it known that l, ALBERT h. lirrlnnn, a citizen of the United States, residin at Newark, in the county of Essex and tate of New Jersey,'have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewing-Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates more particularly to an improvement in that class of presserfoot lifting or clamp-operating mechanism employed in sewing machines for producing detached groups of stitches, such as button sewing or tacking'machines, in which the work is automaticallyclamped in stitching position at the beginning and is released at the end of each stitch-forming period. The invent-ion has for its object partly to provide a simple, compact and efiective Presser-"foot lifting or work-clamp operating mechanism of the class described, and partly to provide such a mechanism adapted for I embodiment in different types of sewing machines .and in connection with difierent styles of work-holding devices.

As referably constructed, the machine comprises stitch-forming mechanism of any usual or suitable kind and a work-holder which may be either a well known form of presser-foot cooperating with the throatplate in holding the material at the stitching point or a work-clamp having upper and lower work-gripping members and means for moving it in a defined path relatively to the stitch-forming mechanism in positioning the stitches. The machine preferably has a cycle cam for imparting the requisite feeding movements to the work-holder and carrying one or more tripping points for a stop-motion controlling the period of action of the stitch-forming mechanism.

The machine preferably has a presser-bar carrying the presser-foot or having a connection with'the upper member of a workclamp and adapted to be operated by a rocktill lever periodically: coupled with a springactuated lifting member automatically set for operation in opposition to its spring by a connection .with the cycle cam inwhich position it is detained by suitable coupling means, the said coupling means being nor- "mally spring-pressed into operative position but. adapted-to be retracted by independent connections w h he t p-motion.

. In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 v usual bed-plate l and bracket-arm' 2 inwhich is -journaled the main-shaft 3 carrying the fast and loose grooved belt-pulleys t and 5, the pulley 4: having rigidly connected therewith the eri herally notched stopmotion cam 6. n the head of the bracketarm is journaled the reciprocating needlebar 7 carryin the needle 8 cooperating with a shuttle wit in'the shuttle-race 9 beneath the bed-plate. Also journaled within the head of the bracket-arm is the resser-bar 10 having fixed thereon the collar 11 between which and theupper bearing boss is the presser-bar spring 12 normally pressing the bar downwardly. The resser-bar carries at its lower end the col ar 13 having a rigid lateral arm 14 normally disposed beneath and adapted to engage the cross-member 15 of a post 16 carried by the springarm 17 of the work-clamp having the foot 18 affording the upper clamping jaw and secured at the opposite end upon the block 19 which is itself secured upon the rigid work-holder arm .20 having at its forward end the workhit tli

tld

supporting plate 21' constituting the lower v work-clamplng member.

Mounted upon the transverse wormwheelshaft 22 is the cycle cam-wheel 23 provided inits outer face with the cam-groove 24 entered by a stud 25 of the rock-lever 26 having operative connections including the pitman 27 beneath the bed-plate with the workclamp for imparting lateral jogging movements thereto in positioning the stitches upon the work.

'The stop-motion is of well lmown form and comprises the spring-pressed plungerbar 28 mounted in the vibratory sto -lever 29 which is journaled in the bearing ug 3d of the bearing bracket'30 for movement both lon 'tudinally and transversely of the mainh osi g normally lowe a ardly y lllll lltl means of the fat spring 31. By means of the angle-lever 32 the stop-lever 29 is tilted to disengage the plunger-bar 28 from the peripherally notched stopping cam 6, in which position the lever 29 is detained by the hooked rearward arm of the springpressed latch-lever 33 fulcrumed at 34 and having a forwardly extending arm normally disposed within the range of movement of the series of tripping points 35 upon the inner face of the cam-wheel 23. The tilting of the latch-lever 33 by engagement of one of the tripping points 35 therewith permits the stop-lever 29 to assume operative position with the upper end of the plunger-bar 28 in operative engagement with the stopping cam 6 and the belt fork 36 in position to guide the belt upon the loose pulley 5.

The sidewise movement of the lever 29 under the momentum of the main-shaft is arrested by engagement of said lever with the inner end of the buffer-pin 37 journaled within the socket 30" of the bearing bracket 30 and havin within said socket the flange 38 between W ich and the end of the bushing 39 is interposed the buffer-spring 40.

The machine, as thus far described, is of the well known Singer No. 68 type, substantially as disclosed in the United States Patent to G. S. Gatchell, No, 798,130, of August 29, 1905.

The presser-bar 10 has near its upper end the collar 41 beneath which it is embracedby the forked'forward extremity of the rocklever 42 mounted intermediate its ends upon the fulcrum stud-screw 43 sustained by the bracket-arm. From the rearward end of the rock-lever 42 depends a link 44 whose lower end enters and is pivotally secured by means of the pin 45 within the forked upper end of the socket member 46 entered by the up per portion of the reciprocatory actuatingbar I I or lifting member 47 Whose lower portion enters the fixed tubular post or support 48 rising from the base 49 of a bearin bracket provided with an adjacent post 50 carrying the transverse fulcrum-stud 51.

The bar 47 is provided at its lower end with the collar 52 between which and the end of the bushing 53 at the upper end of the support 48 is interposed the presser-lifting spring 54. The collar 52 carries the lateral stud-pin 55 projecting through the slot 48 of the support 48 and through the apertured lower end of the link 56 Whose apertured upper end is entered b the pivotal pin 57 by which it is operative y connected with the forwardly extending arm of the rock-lever 58 mounted upon the fulcrum-stud 51 and having a rearwardly and upwardly extending arm disposed within the path of movement of the series of roller-studs 59 mounted upon the adjacent face of the camwheel 23.

The bar 47 has secured thereon intermediate the member 46 and the support 48 by means of set-screws 60 the catch-blocks 61 and 62, each having a lower operative face and beveled rearward end, as represented in Fig. 1. The socket member 46 is formed with a lateral forked lug 46 in which is pivotally mounted by means of the transverse screw-pin 63 the catch-lever 64 having in the extremity of its upper arm the socket 65 between the bottom of which and the member 46 is introduced the spring 66 by means of which the hooked extremity 64 of its depending arm is maintained normally in operative relation with the catch-block 61. By reason of the provision of means whereby it may be temporarily coupled to the actuating bar or member 47, the socket member 46 constitutes a follower for the latter and as such par-takes of its operative movements.

The support 48 is also provided with a lateral forked lug 48 in which is pivotally mounted by means of the stud-pin 67 the catch-lever 68 provided at the extremity of its lower arm with the socket 69 between the bottom of which and the support 48 is interposed the spring 70 by means of which the tooth 71 at the extremity of the upper arm is ressed normally into operative relation with the catch-block 62. The catchlevers 64 and 68 constitute releasable connections by means of which the reciprocatory bar or lifting member 47 is detachably coupled with the socket members 46 and 48.

The lower arm of the catch-lever 64 is connected by means of the link 72 with one arm of a rock-lever 73 whose other arm extends adjacent the forward side of the stop-- lever 29, said rock-lever being fulcrunied by means of the screw-stud 74 upon the post 75 sustained by the socket 30".

The upper arm of the catch-lever 68 is connected by means of the link 76 with the lateral arm 77 of an elbow-lever fulcrun'led at 78 and provided with a rearwardly extending arm 79 having a beveled extremitv. The extremity of the elbow-lever arm 7 5) is adapted for engagement with the adjacent end of a cross-pin 80 mounted in a transverse aperture of the collar 82 fixed upon the outer end of the buffer-pin 37 said crosspin having a head 81 pressed by means of the Hat spring 83 upon the inclined outer face of the forked arm 84 which is secured upon the boss 30" by means of the fastening screw 85.

At the completion of a stitching operation, the actuating bar 47 is maintained in its lower position by action of the spring 54, the engagement of the catch-lever 64 with the block 61 thereon serving to couple. with it the socket member 46 by which the rock-lever 42 is tilted to lift the presser-bal in opposition to the spring 12 and therebv lift the upper clamp-member or presser-foot through engagement of he arm 14 with the naraaaa post l 16, in the present instance. in roclrmg the stop-lever 29 to disengage the plan ger-ban 28 from the sto ping cam 6 in starting the machine the roc lever 73 is engaged by the lever 29 and the catch-lever 64 disengaged from the block 61, thereby uncoupling the member 46 fromthe ban" 47 and, permitting the presser-foot to descend upon the work under the action of the spring 12, in which condition of thee-parts the stitching proceeds.

1 During the stitching operation the camwheel 23 performsa partial rotation and therebycarries one of the roller-studs 59 into engagement with the tail of the rocklever 58 which acts through the link 56'to gradually lift the actuating bar 47 to enable the. tooth 71 of the catch-lever 68 to snap beneath the catch-block 62under the action of the spring 70, as represented in Fig. 1, the catch-lever 6% remaining retracted. I

lhe actuation of the latch-lever 33 by one of the tripping points 35 releases the stoplever 29 for movement under the action of its spring 31 into operative engagement with the stopping cam 6 whereby the rock-lever 73 -is disengaged and the catch-lever 64: is permitted under theiaction of its spring 66 to reengage the catch-block fill. in the lateral movement of the stop-lever under the momentum of the moving parts in the stopping of the machine, the 'buder-pin 37 is thrown outwardly, carrying with it the tripping cross-pin '80 whose head 81 rides downa the incline of the arm 84 and permits its opposite end to project beyond the collar 82 and in advance of the extremity of the elbow-lever arm 7 9.

In the recoil of the pin 37 under the action of the spring 40 to final stopping position, the pin 80 engages the elbow-lever arm 79 (Fig. 7) and tilts the same'suficiently to retract the catch-lever 68 from operative engagement with the catch-block 62 thereby permitting the bar 4L7 to descend under the action of the lifting spring 54L, carrying with it the rock-lever 42 which remains coupled therewith by means of the catch-lever 64, and lifting .the presser-bar, and with it the presser foot, in opposition to the Weaker presser-bar spring 12 and spring-arm 17 of the work-clamp. Y

llt will be observed that the work-holder operating means of the present improvement imposes little, if any, additional load'upon the delicately adjusted stop-motion parts, and particularly the spring-pressed bufi'erpin, the members 29 and 37 being utilized merely for retracting the catch-levers 64 and. 68 and eventhis subordinate function of the bufi'er-pin 37 being performed after theperformance of its normal function in cushioning the sidewise movementof the stop-lever 29 under the action produced by the momentum of the machine, 'lhe power re- 23 which is in practice positively driven by a worm-and-wormwheel connection with the main-shaft 3.

As representedin the drawings, the camwheel23 is shown provided with a plurality of sets of operative portions designed to eflect -a series of stitching operations for each rotation of thecam-wheel, an actuating stud 59 for the rock-lever 58 being provided for each stitching period, as will be readily understood. I

it is evident that the present improvement is not limited in its adaptation to any particular type of sewing machine or workgripping device engaging the work-during the stitching periods, and that it is susceptible of very mat rialmodification in constructive features without departure from the invention. By the employment of a presser-bar journaled inpthe bracket-arm arm standard and entirely-clear of the work handling devices, the present improvement isevidently applicable to either flatbed or cylinder-bed machines, while the compact form and arrangement of the component e1e-- ments of the device readily adapts it to existing machines of the class referred to without substantial alteration thereof.

As will be observed the presser-bar in the normal operation of t epresent mechanism, is under the influence of 12 and the spring clamp-arm 17, and that either of. these spring elements may be read-' ily employed separately inproducing or permitting the clamping-of the wor in the stitching operation by a slight and. obvious adaptation of the mechanism.

1 Wish it a be understood that all of the resser-foot operating mechanism herein shown and described and the accessories thereof involving elements of patentability the presser-bar spring, means for shifting the liftin member in opposition to its' spring, an controlling meansfor alternately establishing and interrupting the couplings between the liftin member and t e presserbar and between t e lifting member and said support.

2. ln a sewing machine, in combination with. 'stitch-formin mechanism, a presserbar, oppositely act ng stronger and weaker 30 oth the coil-spring 100 actuating member in opposition to its spring,

coupling means between the actuating member and said support, coupling means between'said actuating member and follower, and automatic controlling means acting successively upon said coupling means whereby the follower is subjected alternately to the action of each of said springs.

4. In a sewing machine, in combination, stitch-forming mechanism adapted to perform in succession a plurality of stitchforming cycles, a presser-bar, a pressure spring therefor, a presser-bar llfting spring of greater strength, means operating during the action of the stitch-forming mechanism for compressing said liftin spring, and means tripped into action 1n a complete stitch-forming cycle following the period of compression of said spring whereby the presser-bar is successively subjected to the action of said springs.

5. In a sewingmachine, in combination,

stitch-forming mechanism, a stop-motion device for controlling the period of action thereof, a presser-bar, a pressure spring therefor, a presser-bar lifting spring, means actuated independently of the stop-motion device for compressing said lifting spring, and means tripped into action by a connection with said stop-motion device whereby the presser-bar is successively subjected to the action of said springs.

6. In asewing machine, the presser-foot operating mechanism comprising a reciprocatory actuating bar, a spring applied thereto, a follower for said bar, means for shifting said bar endwise in opposition to its spring, a detent for maintaining said bar in its shifted position, a coupling for detachably connecting said bar with the follower,

and means for insuring the simultaneous engagement of said detent and coupling with said bar while its spring is compressed and for thereafter retracting said detent and 1goupling from operative relation with said 7. In a sewing machine, in combination, a presser-bar, a spring therefor, an actuating member, a spring therefor, a support, means including a cam for shifting the actuatin member in opposition to its spring, a stop motion devlce, and means controlled in its action by said stop motion device for maintaining said actuating member shifted in opposition to its spring and for the temporary coupling of said member with the presser-bar and for thereafter renderin said locking and coupling means successive y ineffective. a a

8. In a-sewing machine, in combination, stitch forming mechanism, a stop motion comprising a lever mounted for lateral movement derlved from the momentum of the moving parts in arresting the stitch-forming mechanism, and a spring-pressed buffer-pin to receive the impact of said lever, of a presser-bar, and operating means therefor including a spring-pressed actuating member adapted for connection with said presserbar, and controlling means therefor including an element actuated by the recoil of the buffer-pin immediately following each impact arresting action.

9. In a sewing machine, in combination, a presser-bar, a spring therefor, a lifting bar, a detachable connection between said bars, a spring acting upon said lifting bar oppositely to the influence of the presser-bar spring thereon, means for shifting said lifting bar from an initial position to an operative position in opposition to its spring, and means whereby the connection of the presserbar with the lifting bar is established in such operative position of the latter and the bar is thereafter returned to initial position and its connection with the presser-bar interrupted.

10. In a sewing machine, in combination, stitch-forming mechanism, a stop motion comprising a lever mounted for lateral movement derived from the momentum of the moving parts in arresting the stitchforming mechanism, and a spring-pressed buffer-pin to receive the impact of said lever,

of a spring-pressed presser-bar, and operating means therefor comprising a reciprocating bar, a reciprocatory socket member fitted to said bar, a connection between said socket member and the presser bar, a su port for said bar, a coupling between sai bar and reciprocatory socket member, a coupling between said bar and said support, a spring acting upon said bar in opposition to the action of the presser-bar spring upon the reciprocatory socket member, means for shifting said bar in opposition to its spring for engagement of its coupling with the support, means for'controlling the coupling between sald bar and the reciprocatory socket member including an element actuated by the vibratory stop-motion lever, and means for controlllng the coupling between said bar and said support including an element actuated by said buffer-pin.

11 In a sewing machine, in combination, a

- bar spring, means for shifting saidmember in opposition to its spring, and a releasable coupling operable Without shifting the lifting member whereby said presser-bar may be uncoupled from said lifting member.

12. In a sewing machine, in combination, a spring-pressed presser-bar, a reciprocatory member, a spring acting thereon in opposition to the presser-bar spring, means for shifting said member in opposition to its spring, a support, couplings for operativel connecting said member respectively Wit the presser-bar and with said support, and means for successively retracting said couplings from operative position.

In testimony whereof, have signed my name to this specification, in the presence 20 of two subscribing Witnesses.

ALBERT 1F. FIFIELD.

Witnesses:

W. H. Hues, JAMns R. Ross. 

